Buying woodlots or just logging them

[peterjd89]

I own 160 acre beef farm half woods half fields. I decided to to clean  up the woods and saw the lumber myself.  Im wondering how you find loggind jobs and bid on them I'm considering logging in the winter you guys have been great so far give me a hand working my way into this industry

[peterjd89]

Is a guy better
off buying timberland or just loging

[thecfarm]

If you have 80 acres of marketable trees,I would start selling right there. Yes,there is more money in a finished product,but can you sell lumber? I can sell logs pretty easy,lumber is a hard sell,in my area. If only working a little in the woods,that 80 acres will last for a while. And you get ALL the money.

[peterjd89]

 Do you get the log buyers to come out and look at the timber you pulled out

[Woodboogah]

You can get price sheets usually to see who is paying what for what product.  Where I am some buyers are willing to come out and look at standing timber.  If its your wood, and there is no middle man so to speak then you should make out well even having someone else truck it.  Find a reputable buyer/mill/driver.  Wood can go missing awfully fast.

[peterjd89]

Right now I know I have logs pulled out that are grade 3 saw logs that no one wants to pay anything for. I'm sawing them myself into pallet wood. When I get into better timber I mite try and find some price sheets. I know there are to many guys that will screw a guy over if they think they can

[drobertson]

Not sure about your area, but around here there are loggers all over, and it seems that most of the bigger mills as well as some smaller ones are buying tracks, logging, then reselling the land. As to just logging, there is stiff competition in this as well.  Most tracks are bid on, and to even make a bid one must be certified and registered. It seems to be a very cut throat industry.  My hat is off to loggers, brutal work, maintaining all the equipment, and having decent working days to work,   

[Peter Drouin]

I try to buy the land with trees. For me, And having a sawmill I buy logs from loggers but I manage the land for the long run and log it smartly.

[Ron Wenrich]

Depends on how much money you want to tie up in land and what prices are at.  I know one outfit that has done it both ways.  Mainly, they buy land and timber if the conditions of the sale warrant it.  That's when the landowner has no idea the value of the timber and sells the property for less than timber value.  They go in and log it, then roll the land over.  If you're buying or selling land, its usually a good idea to have a timber inventory and appraisal.  Realtors usually don't have a clue of value and are just going on "market" value without knowing the value of the crop.

Sometimes logging jobs will come to you, if you're an established logger.  Word of mouth or advertising are usually how they come about.  As long as you're doing a good logging job, decent forestry work, and are honest, these can come your way.  But, if your business practices aren't on the up and up, it can work against you.

Sometimes you have to go after the timber.  I have been a procurement forester for foresters and mills, as well as a consulting forester.  Basically, if you happen to drive past a woodlot that you think has timber you would like to cut, you find the owner and get in contact with them.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it don't.

Bid jobs most often come from consulting foresters or from government timber sales.  These sales usually have a timber inventory with them, so you have a decent idea of how much volume is there, just by looking at the prospectus.  Some sales may be too large or too small for some bidders.  Its not unusual to have only a 10% interest level in a stand of timber vs the number of bid notifications sent out.  If you get on a bidders list, its often good to go on the timber tour.  You'll have a chance to talk to the forester, see the timber, and assess the logging conditions. 

Basically, you need to be flexible to take advantage of whatever opportunity that comes your way.  Sometimes you should have a consultant look at or mark timber that you're buying privately.  Other times, you'll want to be on his bidder list. 

If you're selling logs, its good to know what is worthwhile to your buyer.  No use in calling a veneer buyer if you're in pulpwood.  Some guys will beat you with a scale stick.  Those aren't the guys you want to sell logs to.  There are honest log buyers.  Their prices may not be as good as another mill, but they may give you a better deal in the long run.  Prices are only a portion of the value equation.  Prices get you in the door. 

[Peter Drouin]

Ron, for me buying land is money in the bank and the trees are inventory. Saw the inventory into lumber and the return is more than selling logs, Then sell the land. I'm looking at a 20 ac piece But he wants to much he"s thinking house lots I talking wood lot. ;D

[flyboy16101]

Being as you have a farm and if you wanted to expand it, I would recommend buying the land. Not sure what your area is like but around here cleared land is hard to find and when you do it is expensive. My neighbor bought a bull dozer about 5 years ago and 170 acres down the road from us and we have been clearing it ever since mostly during the winter. Not sure exactly how the money goes but he gets some return off the land before it becomes fields. We took all the saw logs off first and now sell the rest as firewood as we clear it. We're not the fastest but if the equipment holds out we can get 5-10 acres in a winter.